


This is (Not) My Idea

by Kai_suki



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Multi, Pining, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, loosely based off the beginning of the swan princess, naruto is royalty bc i said so, sasukes family is in politics, yes im translating the hokage to a monarch in this au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:55:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26671003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kai_suki/pseuds/Kai_suki
Summary: The royal family of the Uzumaki's have had a close political relation to the Uchiha family for years but the two families wish to strengthen that bond. With both of them having sons close in age, they decide to make the boys spend each summer together in order to secure political standing for the future. However things don't go too smoothly when Naruto and Sasuke don't connect instantly as much as the families hoped. Now the boys have to be forced to spend two months together every year until Naruto's coronation when he turns nineteen. But maybe the connection between them that was believed to be non-existent was really there the whole time. It'll just take ten years to figure that out.*I really like the opening concept for the Swan Princess movie so I wanted to expand on that, but it's not word for word. Just heavily inspired. I'm not sure how long this fic will be but it'll probably get lengthy fast lol (rating may change,,, not sure)*
Relationships: Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 42
Kudos: 96





	1. Chapter 1

“Now where did that little mischievous fox run off to?” Kushina playfully calls out into the seemingly empty parlor room. She gently places her hands onto the top of a plush sofa that sat in the middle of the room. Kushina leaned her body forward to peer around the parlor with a knowing smirk plastered on her face.

Just a few feet away sat Naruto, crouching behind a desk while poorly covering his mouth to try and muffle his giggles. Only a few moments ago, he had snuck up behind his mother to steal a cookie from her plate. Following his thievery, he bolted out of the lounge, laughing boisterously, in order to quickly avoid his mother’s retaliation. With a sprightly yelp, Kushina had chased her son out into the hallway. Now she lurked around the spacious parlor room in search of her little cookie bandit.

“I believe we recently discussed how this is no way for a prince to behave, hm Naruto?” Kushina smiled. She gracefully placed her arms behind her back as she proceeded to leisurely pace around the room. 

Naruto glanced around the mahogany desk and quickly scooted further into his hiding spot with a not so discrete giggle. Unfortunately for him, his mother’s keen eye had spotted his peeping face and she moved slowly towards the desk with a smile.

“What will your father think when he hears about this, I wonder?” She now stood directly above Naruto from behind the desk. Unsuspecting, she swoops in to stuff her son into her ams. With a loud and contagious fit of laughter, Kushina dances around the room while holding him close, burying her nose into his cheek and neck. They end up falling onto the floor and Naruto takes that as a chance to crawl away in hopes to continue his retreat but Kushina persistently drags his small body back into her tight hold.

“Oh no you don’t, my little fox!” She laughs and places a rough kiss to the side of his head. “You still have a cookie you need to repay.”

“No, I don’t have it!” Naruto continues his useless struggle against his mother’s grasp.

“Don’t have it? Well then, what happened to it then, hm?”

A moment of hesitation full of giggles from Naruto passes by until he sputters out, “I ate it!”

Kushina feigns a shocked gasp and leans back to get a better look at her son’s bright face. He continues to giggle and lessens his attempts to break free of her hold.

“Ate it! Well how am I supposed to explain to your father of the atrocious crime that you have committed!”

“And what crime would that be exactly?” A deep voice makes an appearance from the doorway of the parlor room which causes Kushina and Naruto to instantly look to it’s direction. Minato stood with his arms crossed across his chest and a light smile revealing itself on his lips. At the sight of his father, Naruto escapes from Kushina’s hold to which she easily releases. 

“Daddy!” Naruto shouts as his little legs carry him quickly to his dad. Minato chuckles and leans down with open arms in order to catch the full force of his son and swiftly lifts him up with a grunt. 

“This one decided he would take the risk of stealing one of my cookies.” Kushina lifted herself from off the ground and made her way toward both of them.

“Yes that is quite the risk, Naruto. I swear, you get bolder everyday.” Minato smiles and kisses Naruto’s cheek as Kushina stops to stand in front of her husband. She gently places a hand on her son’s back and looks at Minato.

“I’m assuming you finished your video call with Mr. Uchiha? What did he say?”

Minato released a breath that he had seemingly been holding in. He readjusts his hold of Naruto, giving him a few extra bounces up and down that elicit a few more giggles out of him. Minato leans his head against the top of Naruto’s head as his son wraps his arms around his father’s neck tighter. 

“Well, we agreed that summer’s would be best. Two months work better with our schedules. We’ll take turns switching locations, giving both Naruto and Sasuke opportunities to get used to our respective residences.”

Kushina nodded while Naruto perked his head up.

“Sasuke?” He tilted his head, his lisp making a heavy appearance on the new word.

Minato returns a soft smile to Naruto. “Yes, Sasuke. He’s around your age and he’s from the Uchiha family, you remember them right? From the banquet last month?”

Naruto nods. His small fingers grab at the longer hairs on the back of Minato’s head.

“Well, we’ve decided that you and Sasuke will spend each summer together in order to, uh,” Minato thins his lips and glances up and around the room in search for the right words. “Strengthen the family relations. Secure some political stuff, it’s all very big words.”

“Yes, and we’re hoping that by the time of your official coronation when you turn nineteen, that Sasuke will take up the position of your advisor in a way.” Kushina adds in excitedly. Naruto turns his head to look back at his mother.

“Will Sasuke play pirates with me?”

Kushina smiles and looks up at Minato for a quick moment, then tilts her head down to look at Naruto. She leans forward and places a gentle kiss on top of his head.

“I’m sure he will, my love.”

With that confirmation, Naruto’s face lightens and he begins to squirm in Minato’s hold. His father takes the hint and carefully sets him back down. As soon as Naruto’s feet hit the floor, he laughs as he immediately runs down the hallway toward the wing of the manor that his bedroom resides in. 

Kushina releases a happy sigh and leans her head forward to rest it on top of Minato’s shoulder.

“This is a good idea right? What if it doesn’t work out the way we hope?” She crosses her arms and nuzzles her face deeper into the fabric of her husband’s shirt. Minato lifts a hand to the back of her head and attempts to hold her even closer.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s Naruto, if he can be best friends with all of the frogs in the garden then I’m sure him and Sasuke will get along fine.”

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


In short, it was not fine at all. 

Naruto and Sasuke almost instantly began to butt heads. 

The Uchiha family arrived at the estate a week after the news about their summers was given to Naruto. Kushina and Minato stood outside the front doors with Naruto holding his mother’s hand as they watched a procession of three black sedans pull up to the graveled drive. 

A few of the estate staff made their way down the concrete steps and held the car doors open. First a tall man in a suit emerged, followed by a petite woman wearing a simple yet luxurious dress. 

Naruto practically bounced on his heels as he waited to see a boy his age make his way out of the car. But first he saw an older boy get out after the woman. He looked young but way older than Naruto. The older boy approached the man in the suit and exchanged a few words that Naruto couldn’t hear even when he leaned forward and strained his ears. Kushina quickly brought him back into place next to her, shooting him a warning glance to be still.

Then the petite woman turned back to the car and reached her hand out. Out of the backseat of the car reached a small hand that tightly grasped onto the woman's hand. It was a boy around Naruto’s age and he was wearing clothing that Naruto perceived to be too itchy and difficult to play and run in. 

Movement in the corner of Naruto’s eye caused him to bring attention back to his father, who was now making his way down the steps. Kushina stood still at the top of the stairs, still holding Naruto’s hand. 

Minato met halfway with the tall man in the suit and Naruto saw them speak to each other while firmly shaking hands.

“Mama, is that Sasuke’s dad?” Naruto looked up to Kushina and shifted on his feet in order to allow himself some movement.

“Yes it is. You will say hello after your father is finished greeting him.” 

Naruto nodded and decided to stick his hand in his short’s pocket to feel for the few rocks he picked up in the garden earlier. He found a couple that he thought might be a nice welcoming gift for Sasuke. Naruto wasn’t sure which kind of rocks Sasuke liked the best but he had a whole collection in his room for him to choose from if he didn’t like the ones in Naruto’s pocket.

After assuring the pebbles were secure, Naruto saw Minato turn back to them and hold his hand out in a gesture for the both of them to come down. Kushina muttered a quick ‘be polite’ to her son as she led him down the stairs with a bright smile.

When they arrived in front of Minato and Mr. Uchiha, Naruto looked up at the towering man and waved. 

“Hi, my name is Naruto and I’m five.”

Minato smiled and bit his bottom lip while turning his face away slightly.

Mr. Uchiha looked down at Naruto and gave a small and professional smile. “Yes, hello Naruto. You told me last time I met you.”

Before Naruto could respond, Mr. Uchiha was addressing Kushina and Minato was shaking hands with the petite woman, still holding the little boy’s hand. Naruto looked over and made eye contact with the little boy and attempted to wave but didn’t get a chance as the boy suddenly moved to hide behind the woman.

“Well, it’s a beautiful day. Why don’t we all have lunch in the garden?” Minato’s voice raised in volume to be heard by everyone. Quickly, the staff gave a single nod and bow before scurrying off to set the table in the garden area.

  
  


* * *

  
  


As the adults continued to eat their meals and converse amongst themselves, Naruto had already eaten his fill of food and began to move spare pieces of pasta around his plate with his fork. He stuck his hand in his pocket and felt around the rocks, then looked up at Kushina. 

“Mama, can I go play now? I finished all my food.” Naruto gently tugged at her sleeve.

Kushina finished chewing and set her utensils down while turning her head to look at her son. Minato was sat next to her, engaged in a deep conversation with Mr. Uchiha. She nodded her head and ran her hand through Naruto’s hair a few times.

“Yes you may. Why don’t you ask if Sasuke wants to join you?”

“Okay!” Naruto hopped down from his seat and made his way over to where Sasuke was sitting next to his brother. When he approached Sasuke, the other boy widened his eyes and clutched onto his mother's hand. She smiled and gave him a reassuring look with a nod.

“Hi Sasuke, do you wanna go play?”

Sasuke hesitated before nodding and folding his napkin as he jumped down from his seat. Immediately, Naruto smiled and shoved at Sasuke’s shoulder. “Tag, you’re it!” Then he took off down the steps of the dias overlooking the garden and ran through a few of the bushes. Sasuke stood there stunned in place for a few seconds before quickly following after Naruto.

When Sasuke caught up to Naruto, the game of tag was left forgotten as Naruto pulled out the rocks in his pocket. He stuck out his arm toward Sasuke showing the different pebbles in his palm.

“Here, do you like them? I got them for you, I found them in the grass over there.” Naruto sounded breathless and stumbled over a few words. Sasuke continued to stare at the rocks and tilted his head.

“What would I do with a bunch of rocks?”

The question caught Naruto off guard and he shifted a bit back on his feet and ended up dropping a few of the rocks. He instantly crouched to the ground to pick the up before he lost them in the grass.

“You collect them. I have a bunch in my room that are really cool. You can have some of those if you want! Come on I’ll show you!” Then once again, Naruto took off in a tired sprint off to the back entrance of the manor. Sasuke tried to follow close behind since he didn’t want to get lost alone in the garden. 

Walking up the carpeted stairs, Sasuke glanced around quickly to gather in all of his surroundings. The estate’s decor was seemingly much older than the interior of Sasuke’s house. The paintings of past Uzumaki family members looked very antique and some of the curtains looked as if they hadn’t been updated in centuries. Despite all of that, the estate was very clean and neat and gave off the impression of ‘new’.

Naruto led Sasuke down a wide hallway lined with arched windows on one side. After they walked past a few more doors and paintings, they stopped in front of a set of large solid wood doors. Naruto grunted as he pushed one of the doors open and let Sasuke walk in.

The room itself was very spacious, but it was clearly a child's room due to the clutter of toys and various nicknacks scattered everywhere.

Naruto hopped across piles as if he knew where each individual item was placed with his eyes closed. Meanwhile, Sasuke hesitated before he carefully tiptoed around clutter. He watched Naruto climb up to a window sill across the room and sit in front of a large collection of rocks of different shapes and colors.

“These are all mine, if you want any you can have some.” Naruto said without looking at Sasuke. Instead he was preoccupied adding the rocks in his pocket to the growing collection and began rearranging some of the pebbles.

“Uh, no thanks.”

And that's when things started to go south.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Outside, the adults plus Itachi continued to sit and have conversations on various things. Kushina picked up a small cake from a tray sitting on the table. After taking a bite she leaned back in her chair.

“Well I’m glad that the boys seemed to hit it off really well. Naruto is very excited to have a new frie-” She was quickly cut off by the doors leading to the garden bursted open and Sasuke rushed out with a very upset Naruto chasing after him. Everything seemed okay until Naruto decided to tackle Sasuke to the ground and start flailing his arms in his attempt to fight in the only way he understood how. Sasuke returned the action in kind.

Minato let out a shout of concern as he instantly rose from his seat and ran over to pull his son off of Sasuke. Sasuke’s mother, Mikoto, rushed over to her son as well and helped him stand up while checking his face for any bruising.

“Naruto Uzumaki! What has gotten into you!” Kushina was already standing when Minato had practically dragged Naruto over to their side of the table.

Naruto continued his weak attempt at flailing in order to break free of his father’s hold.

“He ruined my rock collection and told me my pirate outfits looked stupid!”

“I didn’t ruin your rock collection, you messed it up first.” Sasuke responded in a voice that was quieter than Naruto’s, but still loud enough to be heard by his own father. Fugaku sent his son a glare that caused Sasuke to immediately lower his head.

Minato sighed and handed Naruto over to Kushina, who had a tighter hold and a firmer voice. 

“Well regardless of who did what, Naruto will apologise for hitting Sasuke.” Kushina stated. “Right now.” She added before Naruto could protest.

Naruto huffed and stomped over to Sasuke once Kushina released him. His hands were stuffed in his pocket and continued to scowl.

“Sorry,” Naruto mumbled. The words barely above a breath of air. Behind him, Kushina cleared her throat while Minato pinched the bridge of his nose. Naruto kicked at the ground. “Sorry for hitting you.”

Mikoto placed her hand on Sasuke’s back and gently nudged him forward.

“Sorry too. For your rock collection.” 

“And for calling my pirate outfits stupid?”

“But they are stupid.” Sasuke bit back.

“Sasuke.” 

Fugaku’s voice rumbled when he said his son’s name, instantly making Sasuke want to cower. Instead, Sasuke lowered his head and mumbled another apology for the pirate outfits.

After the exchange, Kushina and Minato told Naruto to go to his room while they saw the Uchiha family out. From his bedroom, he could see the front of the estate from his window. Sasuke and Itachi were being ushered into the sedan by Mikoto while Minato spoke to Fugaku, Kushina nodding along with her husband's words. It wasn’t long before they finished their conversation and said their goodbyes. Naruto watched as the three black sedans drove off of the estate property and his parents were walked back inside by their staff.

Half an hour after the Uchiha’s left, a knock came from Naruto’s door. He was still sitting by the window, fixing his previously ruined rock collection.

“Have you cooled down, my little fox?” 

Kushina’s voice was firm but it carried a bit of gentleness to it. When Naruto only shrugged his shoulders in response, she sighed and carefully shut the door. 

“You do know why what you did today was wrong, right?”

Naruto only shrugged again.

“Naruto,” Kushina began. “Look at me, my love.”

He did.

“People will say mean things to you for the rest of your life, but that doesn’t mean you are allowed to hit them for it.”

She walked over to sit on the edge of his bed. She then patted the spot next to her, to which Naruto immediately went over and curled up next to his mother. His hand fisted in the fabric of her dress. Kushina slowly ran one hand through his hair while the other rubbed his back.

“I’m sorry that Sasuke said and did those things to you, but the way you reacted was not any better.”

Naruto continued to say silent. The room was quiet save for Naruto’s heavy breaths and fabric of his shirt being moved up and down by his mother’s hand. They both sat in silence for a few minutes before Kushina took a deep breath and leaned back in order to see her son’s face.

“I had a talk with your father and as well as Mr. Uchiha,” Kushina brushed Naruto’s bangs from the front of his face. “You will still spend the summers with Sasuke-”

“But why!” Naruto blurted.

“Because the arrangements have already been made and this is a good opportunity. You need to understand that when you grow older and you take up your father’s title, it will be important to have someone by your side that you can truly trust. Sasuke is the perfect chance for you to have that, my love.”

Naruto pouted.

“I know, I know. I promise, it will be over before you know it. And people change and grow. There is a great possibility that Sasuke will not always act that way, hey, you two might even learn you have more in common than you think.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Kushina smiled and kissed his forehead.

She continued to hold him for a while longer before being called to the study by Minato. She told Naruto to clean up his room and to think about different activities he might want to do with Sasuke for the upcoming summer.

Naruto still wasn’t happy about the whole situation. He wasn’t interested in spending any more time with Sasuke. All he wanted was to dress up like a pirate and learn new words and sentences from his tutor Iruka. But unfortunately, it seemed as though Naruto was stuck with his future summers completely booked and full of forced niceties with the Uchiha boy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> last chapter of tiny naruto and sasuke :'((
> 
> but that just means that things are movin right along >:))

Minato let out a deep breath as he stood in front of the dresser in front of his bed. Kushina was currently set up with an easel and a canvas in the corner of the room, painting what looked to be a very messy sky.

“What’s wrong?” She perked her head around the canvas to peek at her husband.

He set down a glass of water after taking a generous sip.

“Nothing, I’m just-”

A pause.

“You’re just what?” Kushina set down her paint brush.

“Worried. About Naruto.”

Today would be the start of the two month long “play date” for Naruto and Sasuke, arranged by their parents. Naruto refused to come down and eat breakfast that morning in an effort of rebellion. Sasuke wasn’t supposed to arrive until sometime after noon, which at the moment could be any moment.

Kushina let out a ‘hmph’ as she pushed out her bottom lip and gazed at the floor, clearly thinking about the entire situation.

“Yes, I’m worried too. I know he’s not happy with all of this but, we can only hope that he will realize that this is good for him.”

“But is it though, Kushina?” Mination creased his eyebrows in concern and looked over at his wife, fists clenched on top of the wooden dresser.

At the sight of her husband, Kushina stood and walked over to him. She quickly wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace and rested her cheek on his chest. Minato was quick to respond and nuzzled his nose into the strands of her bright red hair. They stayed like that in a few moments of silence until Kushina’s hands gently grabbed onto the fabric of Minato’s shirt.

“I know it’s hard to watch Naruto be upset, I feel the same way.” Kushina said.

Minato let out a breath through his nose.

Kushina continued.

“But he needs more people in his life. With him having a private tutor, he’s not socializing as much as a kid like him needs to be. There’s only so many frogs that he can call his best friend, my love.”

“Yes well, I don’t think he sees that as an issue.” Minato mumbled. A slight smile forming on his lips.

Kushina gave a small laugh and a nod of her head in response. She took a deep breath through her nose and slowly pulled herself away from Minato.

“Alright well, I have a painting I need to finish and you have a meeting in thirty minutes so continue getting ready.”

And with that, Kushina settled back in front of her easel and became focused on the canvas. Minato stood at the dresser for a minute longer before taking another sip of his water and walking toward his wardrobe.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  


_ 3 weeks after Sasuke’s arrival  _

Naruto tapped his foot against the leg of his chair while Iruka sat across from him at the table, reading out several different sentences.

“-uto, are you listening?” Iruka raised up an eyebrow and set the textbook down onto the table’s surface. Naruto continued to tap his foot.

“Naruto.” Iruka’s voice sounded more firm.

The boy perked up at that. 

"Huh?"

Iruka shook his head. "Naruto, you can't focus right now. Do you need to take a break?" 

Instead of replying, Naruto looked down at his workbook and flipped through the edges of the paper with his index finger. It was extremely clear to Iruka that the boy was very bothered by something. Most likely something that wouldn't solve itself. 

"Okay, well," Iruka took a deep breath, "do you wanna talk about it?" 

Naruto glanced his eyes up at Iruka, still keeping his head down. After a minute of silence, Naruto turned his gaze back down at the papers and gave a shrug of his shoulders.

Iruka tried again.

"If I promise not to tell your parents, will you feel more comfortable to talk?"

That wasn't completely truthful. Technically, no matter what Iruka promised, Minato was not only Naruto's father but also Iruka's boss  _ and _ the king. What he really meant was,  _ I won't tell your father unless he asks me specifically, sorry kid _ .

"I don't like having Sasuke here." Naruto mumbled out suddenly.

"Sasuke? You're new friend?" 

"He's not my friend!" Naruto shouted and quickly snapped his head up with a scowl.

Okay, so this was a touchy subject. 

Iruka wasn't too informed about the entire situation, just briefed that the Uzumaki family would have a visitor at the estate for the summer. Not that it would be much concern for Naruto's private tutor. Iruka was only with Naruto for 5 hours Monday through Friday, unless he was called and advised otherwise.

But apparently this 'visitor' was not a friend of Naruto's. 

How strange. 

Iruka was fairly certain that even a few of the potted plants around the room could be considered Naruto's friend.

"Alright, well, what is he doing that's bothering you so much?" Iruka asked.

"He reads."

"..." Iruka froze for a moment. He opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. Eventually he was able to shake himself out of the sudden stupor. "H-He reads? Naruto, you read too-" 

"No! I mean like, all he does is read. He never wants to play with me." 

"Oh, you mean read as a hobby. Well thats very good for his age." 

Naruto glared.

"I mean, yes, he should definitely play with you every once and a while." Iruka coughed. 

After another moment of shared silence, Iruka sighed and brought his head forward to rest his chin in his hands.

"Naruto, did you ever think that maybe Sasuke just doesn't like playing the same way you do? You should try a different approach."

"Like what?" Naruto tilted his head.

"Um, like," Iruka glanced around the room, "maybe try asking if he wants play board games?" 

"Ew no! I hate board games!" 

"He might not. You gotta make him feel included, Naruto. Ask him what he wants to play." 

Naruto seemed to think at that. Iruka considered that a win on his part, so he might as well end the lesson for that day. He went over a quick review of everything with Naruto and began to clean up all of the supplies off the table. Naruto grabbed his workbooks and textbooks and put them away on a shelf on one side of the room.

As Iruka made his way out of the room with his bag, Naruto ran up and hugged both of his legs. Iruka smiled and ran a hand through the boy's hair before making his exit from the estate. He really did hope that Naruto would manage to work things out with Sasuke.

It was Naruto Uzumaki. He just had that charm about him.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Sasuke was sitting in a large chair in the parlor room, reading a book, when Naruto found him. He was too engrossed by the words on the pages to even notice the new presence.

Naruto approached slowly. His feet dragged a bit on the rugged flooring. In one of his hands, he held onto a small plastic truck.

“What are you reading?” Naruto said as he finally reached Sasuke. The other boy glanced up at him over the book but quickly went back to reading without saying a word. This caused Naruto to grunt in frustration.

“Fine. Then I’m gonna play in here and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Sasuke only shrugged in response. Naruto crossed his arms tightly over his chest and stomped to the opposite end of the room, the farthest away from Sasuke. Once Naruto decided he was at a good enough distance, he sat down on the floor and began moving his toy truck around in circles while simultaneously creating sound effects with his mouth.

This went on for about a minute or so until Sasuke slammed his book shut and stood up from the chair. Naruto looked up at the sudden noise and scowled when he saw it came from Sasuke.

“Where are you going?”

“Why do you need to know. Just keep playing with your toys like a baby.” Sasuke snapped back.

“I’m not a baby!” Naruto shouted as he threw his toy down in a tantrum.

Sasuke only rolled his eyes and continued to walk out of the room. But not before he could mutter out one last remark.

“...Stupid baby.”

Naruto heard it. He heard it loud and clear. And it was enough to make him jump up from his spot on the ground and run toward Sasuke’s retreating figure. Although, Sasuke still knew what was happening quick enough to get a head start on the run. He made a sharp turn out of the door and rushed down the hallway, constantly turning his head back to see if Naruto was still in pursuit. 

He was.

“Get back here! What did you call me?” Naruto yelled as he continued to sprint after Sasuke through the corridors. 

“I didn’t say anything, stupid!” 

“You did it again!”

Sasuke was just fast enough to be out of Naruto’s reach, but he could feel himself losing stamina quickly. Thinking fast of solutions, he thought that maybe he could lose the other boy if he ran and hid in the garden. With that conclusion, Sasuke made a turn around a corner down a hallway that led to the estate gardens.

What he didn’t plan for was running straight into a body, causing a collision that left Sasuke on the floor.

Naruto rounded the corner and immediately skid to a halt.

“D-Dad!”

Minato looked between the two of them with a concerned expression.

“Boys? What’s going on?”

Sasuke managed to stand up and instantly stepped behind Minato as a barrier.

“Naruto started chasing me.” Sasuke mumbled with a pout.

“Only because he called me a stupid baby!” Naruto pointed his finger toward Sasuke.

“No I didn’t!”

“Yes you di-”

“Enough!”

Minato cut through both of them with a loud and firm voice. After he got both of their attention, he sighed. Naruto knew that his father was not happy and decided it was best to hold his hands behind his back and fix his gaze to the floor.

“I think maybe you two should go to your rooms and cool off for a while. I will have someone come fetch you when dinner is served. Alright?”

Without a word, both boys nodded. They knew that it was best to follow Minato’s instructions instead of attempting to argue. The end result would be the same regardless. Both of them in their respective rooms, trying to enjoy their free time but ultimately occupied with thinking about how much they hated these summer plans.

So that's where they were now. Stuck in thought about how agonizing the rest of this summer would be and how every summer afterwards would be the same. It was torture. 

Naruto buried his chin in his folded arms resting on the window sill. He stared out at the currently setting sun. He knew that dinner would be ready soon and a staff member would come retrieve him at any moment. But he sat there, staring blankly with a slight pout. Naruto really couldn’t understand his mother’s reasoning for this whole mess. All he knew was that he was miserable with Sasuke around.

On the bright side, it seemed like the feeling was mutual. Sasuke looked like he wanted out just as much as Naruto. That was the only thing they had in common apparently.

A knock at the door.

“Naruto? Dinner is ready, your mother and father are requesting you.” A staff woman spoke gently into Naruto’s bedroom.

He nodded and slowly stood up, still lost in thought.

Maybe he could find a way to make these summers tolerable. Pranks on Sasuke sounded like a fun idea, but he knew that it wouldn’t last long before his father reprimanded him. Playing outside didn’t seem to appease the other boy, so maybe Naruto could just spend all of his time in the garden and avoid Sasuke, guaranteed.

As Naruto shuffled down the hallway toward the dining hall, he couldn’t help but think that maybe these summers will go by quickly as if nothing happened at all. Although, it still sounded awful. They wouldn’t stop until he turned nineteen, which seemed like forever away. He sighed.

Naruto really felt as if he was going to be stuck with Sasuke forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter @biscuitkun


	3. Chapter 3

The entire Uchiha household was running around with staff members in every hallway and room.

Everything was supposed to be spotless and decorated accordingly by that evening. The main focus and preparations were being held within the spacious gathering hall. Today was July twenty-fifth. Sasuke Uchiha’s birthday.

Mikoto had been planning for the day several months in advance. Caterers were scheduled to arrive closer to the set time of the party while the decorations and activity set-up were made the top priority for the whole day.

However, the birthday boy himself was alone in his bedroom, peacefully reading a book from his personal collection. He didn’t understand why he needed such a large celebration. Sasuke told his mother over and over again that he didn’t want a party. If anything, he would rather just have Itachi take him out a really cool playground they had discovered not too long ago.

But no, turning ten years old was a big number to everyone apparently. Mainly his mother.

When asked about what gifts he wished for, Sasuke consistently requested that Naruto not spend that summer at their home this one time. Mikoto would always simply respond with, “Not happening.”

So unfortunately, Naruto Uzumaki was present at the Uchiha household for the time being. It was his turn to come here this summer. As of the moment, Sasuke had no clue where the other boy was. He strictly forbade him from coming into his room that day.

And all days prior to it.

All that was important to Sasuke was that he was given his peace and quiet, alone in his bedroom.

“Hey Sasuke!”

That was until a certain restricted individual decided to burst open Sasuke’s door.

“Get out, Naruto. I’ve already told you that you can’t come in here.” Sasuke practically snarled as he kept his face down, buried in his book.

“Yeah whatever, today's your birthday so that rule doesn’t apply.” 

“That’s not how that works, idiot. Now get out.”

Naruto jumped up onto Sasuke’s bed and spread out his arms and legs, taking the shape of a star. He had the face of utmost content and Sasuke was definitely not okay with that. The birthday boy forcely shut his book and set it down on a table. He made his way over to the side of the bed and glared down at Naruto.

“What do you want? Stop bothering me.” Sasuke crossed his arms.

“Come on, stop it already. I just wanna know what you want for your birthday. Anything you wanna see or do?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes and scoffed. “You decided that the day of my birthday would be the day you figured out what I wanted? You’re so stupid. Besides, I just told you what I wanted and have wanted for the past months.”

“Oh yeah, and what’s that?” Naruto raised an eyebrow and stared up at Sasuke.

“Stay. Out. Of. My. Room.”

With every punctuated word, Sasuke scowled deeper and leaned closer in attempt for intimidation. It seemed to work for a split second before Naruto ultimately just sighed and sat up from the bed.

“Come on dude, stop acting so stuck up. Ya know, I don’t ban you from my room back at my place.”

“Really, that’s funny, because I thought you did for  _ three years straight _ .”

“Yeah but I lifted that rule.”

“Well I think you forgot the important detail of letting me know about that.”

Sasuke decided that Naruto was firmly set in his ways and that any attempts made to drag him out of his bedroom were futile. He let out a deep sigh and walked back over to the table where his book was.

“You seriously gonna sit in here and read all day?”

“Yes, that’s my plan. At least until one of my parents or Itachi comes in here to force me out for this stupid party.”

“Hey, it’s not stupid. It’s nice.” Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and grabbed at one of Sasuke’s pillows laying on the bed.

“Sure, it’s nice. But I didn’t ask for it, I never wanted a party.”

“Well then what  _ do _ you want, dummy?” Naruto promptly threw the pillow he had picked up at Sasuke. It earned him a mean glare, which only caused a quiet laughter to bubble up out of Naruto.

“I don’t know! I don’t want anything I guess.” Sasuke stared down at the floor, his hands fumbling around with the various items on the table. “I just wanna be left alone.”

He mumbled the last part. But Naruto heard him.

There was a long moment of silence between them. A tangible pause could be felt within the room. It made Naruto shift a bit uncomfortably on the blankets. He decided to speak up when the silence became too loud.

“Why do you wanna be alone so much, doesn’t it get… lonely?”

Sasuke continued to stay silent. Only shrugging his shoulders after a beat. He was too deep in thought to really give any proper response. He really didn’t want to respond at all.

Fortunately, Naruto could take the hint for once. He sighed and slid off of the bed.

“Fine, I’ll leave you alone.”

He made his way to the door and only turned his head to look back at Sasuke when his hand was resting on the handle. Naruto stared at the other boy for a moment without a word, seemingly wanting to say something but couldn’t find the words. Instead, he opted for the only thing he thought would be appropriate.

“Happy birthday, Sasuke.”

And with those three words, he left.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


_ 2 years later _

“Come on, Gaara! It’s not that bad!”

Naruto, along with Kiba, Shikamaru and Sakura, were swimming in a lake nearby the Uzumaki estate. There were a few hills and ledges leading into the water, which made for really fun jumping. Currently, Gaara was stuck at the top of one of the ledges. It wasn’t that high up, none of them really were. But Gaara was still unsure of the height.

The rest of them had all made the jump into the water before Gaara, leaving him the last one in line. So now the group of four waited for their friend in the water, right below the ledge.

“Hey, how about on the count of five?” Naruto swam a little closer as he shouted up at Gaara.

The red head nodded nervously and the group began their counting in unison. As agreed, when they all shouted the number five, Gaara made a weak jump off of the ledge and into the water. When he resurfaced, they all broke out into contagious laughter as Naruto quickly swam over to his friend and wrapped an arm around him in celebration.

For the next thirty minutes, each of them took turns jumping from various ledges. Except for Gaara, he opted out any diving for the rest of the time spent at the lake. Out of mercy, they all let him have his peace with that.

As Sakura was making her dive, with Kiba cheering her on, Naruto made his way toward the shore where all of their belongings were set down. Once he made it out of the lake and shook off a bit of water from his hair, Naruto began to rummage through one of the bags in search of a snack.

“You’re gonna want to reapply your sunscreen, idiot. I can already see your sunburn forming.”

Naruto jumped a little bit at the sudden voice. But then rolled his eyes when he remembered that it was only Sasuke and his nagging.

“Yeah, Yeah. I’ll do that after I’ve had somethin’ to eat.” 

Sasuke had been sitting in the shade reading and occasionally writing in a notebook while the rest of the party had enjoyed their time swimming. He turned the page of his book as he responded, not looking up at Naruto.

“Mhm, sure you will. You totally don’t have an allergy to following good advice.”

“Hey! That’s not true, I followed the good advice to come out to the lake today.”

“And whose advice would that be, Uzumaki?” Sasuke glanced a look up at Naruto.

The other boy just huffed and crossed his arms. 

“The weather forecast,  _ Uchiha _ .” Naruto put on a grin and took a ceremonious bite of his granola bar.

Sasuke only let out a single breath of laughter as he shook his head.

“Just reapply your sunscreen, idiot.” He mumbled, almost as if speaking to himself, but he knew that Naruto could hear him. Only because after the blonde finished his snack, he responsibly lathered another coat of sunscreen over areas of his body that were exposed.

Once Naruto was satisfied with his application, he rushed off back into the water to rejoin the rest of his friends. Sasuke could see some spots of sunscreen that were not rubbed in completely, but decided not to comment on it. He figured Naruto would learn better from the consequences.

As soon as Sasuke returned his focus back to his book, he heard footsteps and the tousling of tree branches coming from the path they all used to get to the lake. He looked up to see who the new arrival was and gave a small wave when he realized it was only Kushina.

She gave him a bright smile once she spotted him and changed course toward his direction.

“Hello Sasuke, are you having fun?”

“Yeah, I guess. It’s kinda hot outside but at least there's shade.” Sasuke shrugged his shoulders.

“You don’t wanna get in the water with the rest of the kids?”

Kids. Sasuke gave a slight wince at the term. Kushina probably thought the expression was due to the prospect of swimming, so she decided to prattle off about how fun the activity was. But Sasuke tuned most of it out. He was too occupied in thought about how much he hated being seen as a child to most people. It made him feel small.

Besides being legitimately small to most adults.

He was already used to feeling inferior in the presence of most of the colleagues his father would invite over to their home. They always talked down to him like he didn’t know anything at all, but Sasuke was aware that he probably had more common sense then the majority of them. So of course, that kind of treatment being carried over into the Uzumaki household wasn’t any better. He felt as if there was truly no escape from it all.

Sasuke hated the summer.

“-That’s why I think you could really benefit from swimming with the rest of them.” Kushina finished up her rambling and Sasuke closed his book.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m just not that interested. I think I’m gonna go back inside.”

“Oh? Alright then, do you want me to walk you back?”

Sasuke stood up and began stuffing his books and journals back into his backpack.

“I’m fine, I know the way.”

Kushina only gave a slight nod and quiet sound of affirmation. Her face clearly showed some confusion and concern but Sasuke didn’t think that was his problem. Kushina was nice, she had never given Sasuke a reason to be irritated. But right now, he was just annoyed with the world.

He started walking down the dirt path leading back to the estate when he heard the dreaded noise.

“Hey, Sasuke! Wait up!”

And here came Naruto. Running out of the lake, splashing water everywhere and making a run over toward the path. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and continued walking, hoping the  _ annoyance _ name Naruto would give up halfway. But of course, giving up wasn’t a part of Naruto’s vocabulary. 

“Hey, I said wait didn’t I?” Naruto said, a little out of breath, as he caught up to Sasuke.

“Yeah? And I kept walking, didn’t I?”

“Dude, why're you leaving?” Naruto held out his arm and hit tree branches as they walked.

“It wasn’t like I was doing anything I couldn’t do inside. So that’s where I’m going.”

“But this is a group outing, you could get in the water like the rest of us ya know.”

“But I didn’t and I don’t want to.” Sasuke started to walk a bit faster.

Naruto only picked up the pace to match his.

“You don’t have to be so stingy all the time.” 

“Well maybe, I don’t know, have you ever thought that I don’t wanna hang out with you or your friends?” Sasuke bit back.

Naruto stopped in his tracks but Sasuke kept his eyes forward and continued down the path.

“Fine, be that way! I just won’t even invite you anymore!”

“Your parents will just force you to anyway, so what does it matter, idiot!” Sasuke yelled back, but didn’t look at Naruto. 

His only priority was getting as far away from the lake and Naruto. But it would only be short lived. He knew that back at the estate he would only have a few hours without the annoying blonde. After that, he would be stuck with him for the rest of the day. And for the rest of the month.

Sasuke really did hate the summer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw for scene of a fight and the mention of blood  
> it's not extremely graphic but just in case it makes you uncomfortable

“Hiding yourself in your room isn’t gonna stop dad from making you attend, Sasuke.”

Itachi stood outside of Sasuke’s door, arms crossed and waiting patiently. Just inside the room, thirteen year old Sasuke was dressed in his formal attire and also crouched beside his bed. He had his headphones in but he could still tell that Itachi was waiting for him.

Tonight was one of those political gala’s that Sasuke’s parents would also go to every so often. But apparently the Uchiha family got to be the host for this time around. Which meant Sasuke was forced to join. Which also meant, Naruto was here.

With the knowledge that Sasuke would be attending, the Uzumaki’s thought it would be a great idea to bring their son along. Of course they did. Because Sasuke could never really get away from that boy even if he tried. And he tried.

In fact, he was trying right now.

Itachi gave another knock on Sasuke’s door.

“Come on, Sasuke. Would you rather me or dad drag you out of there?”

Sasuke groaned and pulled his earbuds out, tossing them somewhere off onto the floor. 

His brother was right. Fugaku would not be as forgiving toward Sasuke being so stubborn about this. So with much regret, he got up and made his way to the door. When he opened it, Itachi looked down and let out a deep sigh.

“You don’t even have your jacket and shoes on, Sasuke.”

“Yeah well I wasn’t really planning on going.”

“ _Yeah well,_ you were gonna go regardless and you knew that.” Itachi let himself into the room and went straight for Sasuke’s closet, rifling through numerous hangers for the fitted suit jacket. Sasuke followed behind his brother and stood in the open doorway of the wardrobe.

“Is Naruto already here?” 

“No, the Uzumaki family won’t be here until later. Apparently Minato has some meetings he has to get through.”

A bit of relief filled Sasuke and he relaxed his shoulders. At least he had some time to prepare himself before he had to deal with the obnoxious boy.

“Come on, go put your shoes on. Dinner starts in twenty minutes.” Itachi said while making his way out of the closet, Sasuke’s black suit jacket in hand.

Sasuke did as he was told and put on his fancy dress shoes as his brother waited at his bedroom door. Once he finished and joined Itachi, he took the jacket from him and struggled to put it on as they both made their way down the hall. Sasuke could already hear the murmurs of guests from the dining room. He groaned silently.

Itachi and Sasuke sat next to each other near their parents. Fugaku was speaking to a colleague sitting across from him, while Mikoto was focused on straightening out Sasuke’s jacket and combing out his hair.

Around twenty minutes into the first course of the evening, a staff member rushed to Fugaku’s side and spoke something quickly in a hushed voice. Sasuke’s father only gave a nod as a response and then the staff member scurried off toward the dining hall entrance. Not too long after that interaction, a different member of the Uchiha staff began an announcement near the large double doors of the room.

“May everyone give their attention to His Majesty Minato Namikaze and the royal family.” The voice was loud and clear, gaining everyone at the table to stop their movements and turn their heads.

As soon as the announcement was made and Minato walked into the room, everyone began to stand up from their seats. Sasuke was a bit confused as to what everyone was doing and continued to sit, thinking he was probably exempt from whatever the adults had to do. Instead, Itachi quickly tugged on Sasuke’s arm, signalling him to stand up as well.

“Hurry, get up.” Itachi said firmly under his breath.

Sasuke stood but now he couldn’t even see Minato at the front. Everyone was too tall. So Sasuke huffed and began to play with the edge of his napkin on the table. That is until his mother promptly swatted his hand while keeping her eyes forward.

“Ah, thank you. Please, sit.” Minato said, his voice a bit distant from Sasuke.

At those words, all of the guests started to situate themselves back into their seats. Sasuke followed suit and felt a little aggravated at having to be forced to stand, only then to be told to sit again. What was the point?

As people all around the table continued to sit, talking quietly amongst themselves, Sasuke saw Minato walk towards their end of the table. Not far behind him was Kushina and Naruto. As Minato passed by, a few guests went out of their way to respectfully bow individually. Finally, once reaching their destination, Minato sat down at the head of the table.

Fugaku stood and began to formally welcome the royal family to the dinner, afterwards he started some speech that Sasuke decided was alright to tune out. Instead, he focused on pushing the stray pieces of carrots around on his small appetizer plate. 

“Hey, someone is trying to get your attention.” Itachi whispered while lightly bumping his elbow against Sasuke’s arm. After Sasuke looked up from his plate to his brother, Itachi gestured his head the other direction. When Sasuke shifted his line of sight to where his brother signalled, he grimaced as he saw Naruto waving at him. In response, Sasuke just mouthed the words ‘shut up’. Naruto quickly stuck his tongue out, making Sasuke sigh and roll his eyes.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


The rest of dinner went by just fine. And by fine, it went uneventful. 

Sasuke ate his meals, spoke idly to Itachi whenever prompted, listened to his mother say something about another family, and watched Fugaku have a professional conversation with Minato.

Luckily, Naruto hadn’t bothered Sasuke at all during dinner. Which was shocking. But of course, Sasuke was no fool. He knew that at some point during the evening, the blonde would show up and create a massive headache for Sasuke.

When the final plates were removed from the guests at the table, they all made their way to the banquet hall right across from the dining room. As everyone filed into the large room, Sasuke instantly made a course toward the side of the room in order to stand against the wall. The one thing he was firm about was the avoidance of mingling and dancing.

Sasuke watched as a few couples danced gracefully across the marbled floor. Other guests stood in various groups, talking and laughing while staff made rounds around the room holding trays of alcohol. 

He didn’t understand why he was forced to attend this. He could have stayed in his room quietly the whole night and no one would be none the wiser. But of course his father was all about appearances. Sasuke knew the only reason he was here was out of obligation for his father. Fugaku was the host, therefore he had to showcase his perfect family with their perfect party in their perfect house. 

Sasuke was exhausted by all of it.

“What’re you doin’?”

At the sudden voice, Sasuke broke out of his thoughts and looked to find Naruto standing in front of him. Sasuke crossed his arms and glared.

“Nothing. And I’d like to keep it that way. Go away.”

“Nice to see you too.” Naruto deadpanned.

“What do you want Naruto?” Sasuke was already tired of this conversation and wished that the other boy would get distracted by anything and leave him alone. But that never happened and Sasuke knew that his wishes were only a fantasy.

“I just wanted to say you look nice.” Naruto’s words came out mumbled, which caused Sasuke to crease his eyebrows and lean forward a bit.

“Huh?”

“ _You look nice_.” 

That’s weird. Sasuke suddenly felt his face gradually become warmer. He didn’t know why, Naruto was just giving him a compliment, that wasn’t new. So why was Sasuke reacting so differently to this particular one. He was confused and by default he was upset by it. 

“Thanks I guess. We’re pretty much wearing the same thing so I don’t know why you think so.”

Naruto huffed.

“God, you’re impossible.”

“You’re the one who approached me, I didn’t ask you to come over here.” Sasuke narrowed his eyes and leaned his back against the wall with a bit too much force.

“That’s because I wanted to ask you something but of course you would act like this.”

“Just spit it out, Uzumaki.”

Naruto was usually so assertive and confident in everything he did. When he wanted something, he had no issue telling the world what it was. So why wasn’t he doing that now? Why was he treating Sasuke differently? It made Sasuke want to scream.

“I wanted to know if you’d like to-” Naruto stopped himself. He brought a hand to the back of his neck and looked down at the floor.

Sasuke waited to see if Naruto would continue, but it didn’t seem like he was going to.

“Like to what?”

“If you’d like to dance? With me?”

_What?_

Now he was absolutely positive he was losing his sanity. Did Naruto Uzumaki just ask him to dance? Like ballroom dancing? The kind of dancing that all the couples were doing right now in the banquet hall? Sasuke felt dizzy. And even warmer than before.

“So, is that a yes or a no?” Naruto continued to stare at the floor.

Sasuke was so tired and irritated by everything tonight. Of course Naruto would not make things any easier or better. Sasuke didn’t know what these feelings were or what to do with them and all it did was fuel his irritation. All he wanted was to be alone in his room, away from everything. But Naruto Uzumaki seemed to be on a mission to make sure that never happened. 

“Why? That’s weird.” Sasuke finally responded. The words tinged with venom. His brain was now on the search for the best way to get rid of Naruto. If that involved hurting his feelings, then so be it.

“It’s not weird. Lots of people are doing it right now. Why would it be weird, it’s just dancing.” Naruto was clearly bothered by Sasuke’s words. Sasuke didn’t fully understand why though. He was right, obviously.

“Yes it is. We’re too young and I’ve never seen two boys dance together.”

“Who cares about that stuff. It’s not a big deal. It’s just dancing, Sasuke.”

Sasuke wasn’t too fond of how Naruto said his name. He never said it with such disgust behind it. It left Sasuke feeling dizzy. 

_Why?_

“The adults would end up telling us to stop anyway, so why bother.”

“Maybe, maybe not. Again, why does it matter?” Naruto shrugged. Why was he so nonchalant? This was serious. This was important.

“It does matter. This party is for the adults, us _kids_ should mind our business. I’m not in the mood to get yelled at.”

“We’re not kids anymore, we’re practically teenagers. Almost adults.” Naruto sighed. “Listen, do you wanna dance or no?”

_Why?_

“No.” Sasuke’s voice was firm and he tilted his chin up slightly. “You’re dad might let you get away with a lot of things but mine doesn’t, so stop trying to get me in trouble.”

“It’s just dancing, Sasuke! What do our dads have anything to do with it?” Naruto was raising the volume of his voice slightly. A few guests nearby looked in their direction for a moment. Sasuke shifted on his feet.

“I’m just making a point.” Sasuke knew he should stop but the words just came pouring out.

_Why?_

“You’re a spoiled kid who gets anything he wants and your parents tolerate everything you do. You may get all of these privileges and all these friends because you’re next in line for the throne, but it wont work on me.”

Naruto stood there, staring at Sasuke. Silence fell between them and it felt as if the whole room became quiet. Sasuke could see Nartuto’s face progressively shift into a more irritated expression. He was angry. And that was fair.

“You’re the worst.” Naruto mumbled.

“Right back at you.”

Sasuke had no idea that those words would be the final crack.

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto threw a fist at Sasuke’s face. The blow caused Sasuke to stagger and fall to the ground. He brought a hand up to his cheek and let his jaw hang loose in exasperation. A few gasps could be heard from a couple guest’s surrounding them.

“What? All talk and no fight, Uchiha?” Naruto glared down at Sasuke, his clenched fists were shaking.

That taunt was enough to warrant the reaction Naruto wanted out of Sasuke. With a sound similar to a snarl, Sasuke quickly rose up from the floor and returned a punch to Naruto’s cheek. As his fist made contact, Naruto reached out and grabbed at the lapels of Sasuke’s suit jacket. Sasuke ended up being tugged forward and they both stumbled backward into the crowd of guests, causing most of them to gasp and let out shrieks as they all moved out of the way.

Naruto and Sasuke ended up on the cold, hard floor, throwing their fist’s in every direction. At one point, Naruto grabbed at Sasuke’s hair, causing him to let out a yelp but did not succeed in stopping any of the continuous punches. Sasuke kicked his legs, Naruto flailed his arms and both of them were yelling out insults at each other.

He wasn’t sure how long it had been going, but Sasuke did sneak a glance off to the side to find small spots of red spattered on the white flooring around them. So it must’ve been long enough for them to draw blood. Sure enough, when Sasuke focused on Naruto’s face, he found a streak of blood running out of his left nostril and a cut on his lip that was becoming more inflamed. Sasuke could only imagine what his own face currently looked like.

They continued to throw fist’s at one another until a distant shout could be heard and suddenly there were hands under Sasuke’s arms, aggressively tugging him away from Naruto. As he was being pulled away, he noticed Naruto was being dragged as well. 

Minato had his arms wrapped around Naruto’s torso and had a face of complete concern as he looked quickly between his son and Sasuke.

Naruto continued to kick his legs and struggle against his father’s hold. While Sasuke accepted the end of their altercation and allowed himself to slump against the person currently holding him. When he glanced up, he saw it was Itachi, who looked extremely frazzled and had his gaze glancing from Naruto and somewhere off to the side. 

“What is going on here?” A loud voice made an appearance from amidst the quiet crowd gathered around the scene. Sasuke immediately winced and lowered his head. His bangs obscuring his face.

Fugaku emerged from the congregation of guests, quickly making his authority known. When he took in the sight and noticed both of his sons and a beat up prince, his eyes went hard and enraged.

Mikoto appeared at her husband's side and soon let out a gasp, bringing a hand to cover her mouth. It wasn’t long before she was rushing over to Sasuke and began speaking erratically to Itachi. Sasuke only heard their voices distantly, drowning out the conversation and trying his best to tune out the entire situation. But he was aware of his mother lifting his face and tears suddenly threatening to spill over her cheeks.

It felt as if no one was going to say anything. The whole banquet hall was silent, save for a few hushed voices from the back of the crowd. Most likely already gossiping and speculating the event that had just occurred.

Sasuke could hear his father make a few demands which caused staff members to rush to the scene and begin crowd control and clean up. Now a few others besides his mother were attending to his wounds and attempting to speak to him. Itachi had long since set him down on the floor, swiftly leaving his side to what Sasuke assumed was to speak to Fugaku.

“Sasuke, _what happened?_ ” Mikoto’s voice finally reached Sasuke’s ears.

He gave a slight cough and blinked a few times. The effects of the fight finally catching up to him. He already felt a migraine and the sting of the cuts on his face. His arms and legs left sore and he could feel the growing bruises all over his body.

Sasuke couldn’t find the words to respond with, so he opted for just slightly shaking his head and giving a shrug of his shoulders. His mother just let out a single sob and cupped her hands over her mouth.

The next thing Sasuke knew was waking up in his bed. He stared at the ceiling of his bedroom and let out a groan. It was morning judging by the light seeping through the thick curtains. He brought a hand up to his face and took in the sight of bandages wrapped around his fingers. When he attempted to flex his injured hand, it only gained a pained wince out of him.

He wanted to reach out for his phone and try to check the time but he couldn’t find the energy or strength to do so. One thing he did know, was that there was another person in the room.

“Great, you’re conscious again.”

Sasuke let himself breathe out a weak laugh at his brother’s remark.

“Barely.”

“I’m glad you find this funny, because dad sure doesn’t.” Itachi said. 

The edge of the bed dipped by Sasuke’s legs. He raised his head a bit to see Itachi sitting next to him and giving him a worried look.

“Yeah, I figured.” Sasuke’s voice sounded hoarse. He could really go for some water.

“You mind telling me what happened?” Itachi sighed and scooted closer to his brother, shifting the bedding.

Sasuke only shrugged and Itachi made a sound of quiet frustration. 

“This kind of attitude is only gonna make the situation worse, you know that right.” Itachi continued, clearly upset, but nonetheless he reached out a hand and gently ran his fingers through Sasuke’s hair. Sasuke wouldn’t ever admit it, but he found the gesture comforting.

“I don’t know Itachi, it was Naruto, what else did you expect to happen?”

Itachi stayed quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath and responding.

“Dad’s not gonna like that excuse. He’s humiliated and really mad. _You fought the Prince of Konoha in front of not only a crowd of diplomates but also the king himself_.” Itachi couldn’t seem to mask the hint of humor that rose out that last statement. Almost impressed with his little brother.

When Sasuke continued to stay silent, Itachi continued.

“You’re lucky mom is defending you right now to try to calm dad down. Otherwise, I’d become an only child.” 

They both gave each other a fond smile and Itachi then leaned forward to rest his forehead over Sasuke’s body that was covered with a thick comforter.

“I worry about you, ya know.” Itachi mumbled into the fabric. Sasuke huffed and raised his hand to swat at his brother’s head.

Sadly, Sasuke’s moment of calm with Itachi couldn’t last forever. A firm knock sounded at his bedroom door and Sasuke immediately tensed. He knew who it was, and he was not ready for this interaction.

“Itachi… will you stay in here when he talks to me?” Sasuke gently tugged at his brother’s long hair that was pulled back and draping over his shoulder. Itachi gave him a look that Sasuke couldn’t put into words. It was a kind of understanding, but one that was unique between him and Itachi. Sasuke appreciated it.

After a beat of comfortable yet tense silence, Itachi grabbed onto Sasuke’s hand and nodded before he stood up from the bed to go open the door for their father.


	5. Chapter 5

The bedroom was silent and full of tension as Fugaku stood near the doorway. His arms were crossed and his breathing sounded a bit strained. 

Itachi tapped his fingers against his thigh before taking a deep breath and moving to sit down at the table within Sasuke’s room. Fugaku continued to stare at Sasuke, who was currently lifting himself up to rest his back against the bed frame.

As another long, tense moment of silence went on, the brothers got situated before Fugaku began to speak.

“I would like a full explanation of what happened last night during the banquet, Sasuke.”

Sasuke looked down, trying to avoid his father’s piercing gaze. Despite his efforts, he could still feel the intensity of it.

“Uh, I got into a fight.” Sasuke mumbled.

“I’m aware of that. Tell me how that even became a situation to begin with.” 

“Naruto started it, he punched me first.”

“Sasuke, I’m not really that concerned with _who_ started it. I’m more upset that it progressed to the level that it did. Do you understand how embarrassing you have left our family last night? You gave the Prince of Konoha a bloody nose in front of all of our esteemed guests and caused King Minato and his family to leave the banquet.” Fugaku took a breath before continuing. “Tell me what happened Sasuke. Now.”

There was no more room left for stalling. Sasuke had to face the consequences of his actions and Fugaku was here to make sure that he did.

Sasuke did as he was told and relayed the events that led up to the fight itself, being sure to sugar coat the words he had told Naruto. Fugaku didn’t need to know how he had insulted Naruto.

When he was finished with his account of the night, Fugaku sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Wonderful, Sasuke, just absolutely wonderful.”

Sasuke clenched his fists in the blankets, wincing at the pain.

“I really don’t understand why you have such an issue with Prince Naruto, from what I have gathered he seems very friendly. Why must you always pick fights with everyone your age? Your relationship with Prince Naruto and the royal family is not only a great privilege but an amazing opportunity. The last thing your mother and I want is for you to throw it away.”

Fugaku finished and became visibly more upset as he went on. Itachi looked ready to jump out of his chair at any moment.

“So, if you believe that the stunt you pulled last night will change your future summer schedules, you are extremely incorrect.”

Sasuke shot his head up and opened his mouth to say something, but his father held up a finger to silence him before he could even start.

“I’m not finished.” A beat. Then a deep breath. “You will continue your summers with Prince Naruto until his coronation and you will now be required to attend every single Uzumaki event within or outside of the summer months.”

“Dad!” Sasuke spoke up and slammed his hands on top of the bed. “How is that going to help! I don’t like him, he doesn’t like me, we fight every time we’re around each other, how is that arrangement gonna make anything better!”

“Do not raise your voice at me, Sasuke.” Fugaku glared down at his son, and Sasuke’s face contorted with anger as he simultaneously fought back the urge to cry.

“You _will_ be nice and respectful to Prince Naruto and the royal family, Sasuke. Regardless of your own feelings. Do I make myself clear?” 

Sasuke didn’t respond as he continued to stare at his father.

“Am I clear, Sasuke?”

“...Yes, sir.” Sasuke mumbled the words.

“Good. I will let Itachi and the staff take care of the rest.” Fugaku turned towards the bedroom door, but stopped short at the sight of Sasuke’s bedside table.

“And I will be taking this as well, you can have it back at the end of the week.” His father swiftly took Sasuke’s phone off of the table and pocketed in his pants as he continued to walk out of the room. Sasuke had made a weak attempt to stop him but he knew that it was pointless.

As soon as the door shut tightly, Sasuke waited a few seconds before snatching a pillow beside him and letting out a strained scream into the fabric.

“I hate it here! I hate Naruto! And I hate this family!”

Sasuke let out all of his frustrations into the pillow. He even kicked his legs underneath the bed sheets despite the pain of the bruises. It wasn’t often that Sasuke threw tantrums, but it had been building up for too long.

With his head still buried in the pillow and continuing to scream out all of his inner turmoils, Itachi sat down next to Sasuke on the other side of the bed. Gently, he removed the pillow from Sasuke’s hands and succeeded in doing so without much of a fight from his brother.

Itachi gave Sasuke that special look of hurt and understanding. That, along with Itachi silently opening up his arms, was enough to make Sasuke breakdown and quickly wrap his arms around his brother. Now, instead of screaming, Sasuke sobbed into the T-shirt of his brother’s chest. Itachi didn’t say a word as he ran a hand through Sasuke’s hair.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


“Naruto Uzumaki. You have some explaining to do, young man.” Kushina placed her hands on her hips as she stood in front of her son. Naruto was sitting down on one of the sofas in the parlor room.

“It’s not that serious, Sasuke was being mean so I punched him, that’s all.” He shrugged.

“Not that serious? _That’s all?_ ” His mother repeated his words with complete disbelief all over her face. “Do you not understand what you two have done? You completely disrespected the name of our family and you ruined the very generous party that the Uchiha’s had set up. It _is_ that serious, Naruto.”

“But mom! You should have heard the things he said about me and our family! He deserved it!”

“I’m aware that sometimes people say hurtful things, and no, that wasn’t right of Sasuke. However, you know that you should have just walked away instead of continuing with your actions.” Kushina huffed and closed her eyes.

“Your mother is right, Naruto.” Minato spoke up from the doorway of the room. He had been standing there the whole time Kushina was scolding Naruto. He normally let his wife get everything out of her system before jumping in with a calmer resolve.

“I've already spoken with Fugaku. Profusely apologized for your actions-”

“Which you will apologize on your own behalf soon enough.” Kushina cut in sternly. Minato nodded in agreement before continuing.

“Yes, you will. But, both Fugaku and I agreed it would be best to continue with our current summer arrangement-”

“What!” Naruto shouted, cutting Minato off for the second time. His father sighed and waited a moment before he started to speak again.

“Please let me finish, Naruto.” Minato took in a breath. “You will continue seeing Sasuke every summer until your coronation and Fugaku made the offer of having Sasuke attend all of our future events whether it be during the summer or not. I agreed.”

“So, what you’re saying is that Sasuke is gonna be here all the time?” Naruto crossed his arms and kicked his legs violently. 

“No, not all the time. But you will be seeing him more frequently.”

“How is that gonna help?” Naruto yelled.

“You both need to learn to tolerate one another. There is no getting out of this, Naruto. End of discussion.” Minato stood there, staring back at his son. After a minute of tense silence, Naruto stood up and began to storm out of the room.

“Fine, whatever, I don’t care.” He muttered out and slammed the door behind him.

Minato groaned and rubbed his face. Kushina sighed as she sat down on the sofa that Naruto had just vacated.

“See, this is what I was afraid of, Kushina.”

“I know, my love, but there’s nothing we can do about it now.” She brought her elbow up to sit upon the armrest of the sofa. “It will work itself out, just give Naruto some time to cool off.”

Minato knew his wife was right, but it didn’t help to quell the worry growing within him.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


It was the annual Uzumaki Christmas gala that was held on the eve of the holiday without fail.

Nothing unusual about it. Everything was as it has always been for as long as Naruto could remember. The ballroom of the estate was completely decorated in greens, reds, and golds. A large Christmas tree sat at one end of the room, glimmering with lights and ornaments. However, there was only one thing that was a new addition this year.

Sasuke Uchiha.

Naruto had never seen him attend the gala, ever. Itachi was always present as far as he could remember, but never the youngest sibling. He could only assume it was because Sasuke was not interested in coming or his parents thought it best to exclude him from the professional setting.

Unfortunately, Naruto always had to be here. As the Prince of Konoha, it was highly important that he consistently made an appearance to these sorts of events. It became exhausting. But the Christmas gala was always the most tolerable. 

Well, not anymore.

Currently, Naruto stood near one of the floor to ceiling length windows overlooking the gardens. Surrounding him was a small group of his friends. Kiba was telling a story about him and his dog, while Sakura laughed and Gaara listened intently. Naruto was too zoned out to be paying that much attention to his friend speaking animatedly. He slowly swirled his tall glass of apple juice absent-mindedly and gazed out the window. The sun had completely set and the outside was completely dark, save for the few light sources spread around the gardens.

“-listening? Naruto.” 

Naruto snapped out of his daze and refocused on his friends. All three of them were staring at him, Kiba raising an eyebrow to further his question.

“Ah, sorry. Just thinking.” Naruto nervously laughed. He brought his free hand up to rub the back of his neck.

“Highly unlikely.” Sakura added with a knowing smirk before bringing her own glass of apple juice to her lips.

“Hey! I can think!”

The three of them laughed as Naruto huffed in irritation.

“No but seriously, what’s up?” Kiba stuffed a hand into the front pocket of his pants.

“Nothing, just,” Naruto took a breath. “Sasuke’s here, that's all.”

“That asshole?” Gaara said.

“Gaara!” They all shouted simultaneously in shock. It wasn’t usual for Gaara to curse, but whenever he did, Naruto felt it was always appropriate.

“I mean, yeah, he is an asshole. I don’t know, him being here is weird and I just know my parents are gonna force us to interact.”

Sakura gave him a sorrowful look and hummed in acknowledgment.

“It’s possible they might want the two of you to play nice in front of everyone in order to appease their thoughts about your fight a few months ago.” She spoke softly with an air of understanding.

Naruto just groaned. She was most likely right. It wouldn’t surprise him if his parents wanted him and Sasuke to put up an act in front of all the guests. The majority of the attendees were present when both of them had broken out into a fight. It makes sense for them to be judgy, even now after time has passed since then. Rich politicians were not Naruto’s favorite people, not to mention the fact that he would soon become one himself.

“Don’t worry, if he tries anything, I’ll kick his ass!” Kiba interjected triumphantly. Gaara nodded in agreement.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Naruto let out a dejected laugh. He felt a bit more confident about the whole situation since his friends were here, but he still overall felt uncomfortable and upset.

As Kiba began to strike up another conversation on a different subject, Naruto noticed his tutor Iruka approach their group.

“Hey, Mr. Umino.” Naruto gave a slight wave.

Iruka returned the greeting with a polite smile and neutral greeting to the whole group.

“Hello, Naruto. Sorry to interrupt, but your parents are requesting you at the Christmas tree.”

All at once Kiba, Gaara, and Sakura all turned to look at Naruto. He sighed. He knew what this was about. It was time to play pretend with Sasuke Uchiha.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Sasuke thought the whole room felt stuffy.

He was never allowed to attend this gala before. But now he was forced, all because this was an Uzumaki hosted event in which Naruto would be present. Meaning Sasuke had no say in whether or not he was going.

Fugaku was speaking with a guest as Mikoto had a gentle hold of his arm. Sasuke was observing the room while he stood next to Itachi, who was currently picking up various finger foods from the long white clothed tables full of hors d'oeuvres.

Sasuke watched his brother pick up the same cracker he had just eaten and gave him a questioning look. Itachi noticed from the corner of his eye.

“What? I didn’t eat lunch and these are good.”

“You look like an idiot.”

“Shut up, you think everyone looks like an idiot.”

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms. He couldn’t argue with that.

Before either of them could continue with a conversation, Sasuke noticed his mom turn her head toward both of them and subtly jerked her head, signaling them to join herself and their father. Sasuke lightly hit Itachi’s arm with the back of his hand.

“Mom and dad want us.”

Itachi let out a quiet groan with his mouth still chewing on a piece of spiced ham from a platter. After he finished and composed himself, he turned around and began walking with Sasuke toward their parents.

As the brothers approached their parents, Fugaku turned his body towards them and lifted his arm out while he introduced them to the guests they were speaking to.

“Hiashi, these are my sons, Itachi as you know,” Fugaku rested his hand on Itachi’s back, between his shoulder blades. Itachi gave a professional smile and shook the man’s hand with a firm nod. “And this is my youngest son, Sasuke. I don’t believe you have ever been formally introduced.”

Fugaku looked at Sasuke and raised his eyebrows in expectation and Sasuke had to hold back a sigh. He knew that his smile looked forced but he still went forward to shake Hiashi’s hand.

“Sasuke.” Hiashi said matter of factly in a way of greeting. Sasuke only awkwardly nodded his hand and withdrew his hand.

“Sasuke, this is Mr. Hyuga. A colleague of mine.” Fugaku said. “As you know, Itachi is currently studying law and performing quite well.” Their father showed his rare, but very slight smile.

Of course, it faded away once Fugaku’s attention was on Sasuke.

“And Sasuke is in training for politics alongside his basic studies. He performs adequately.”

“I see.” Hiashi nodded, both of his hands held behind his back.

“How is Hinata doing?” Mikoto pitched in, sensing the rising tension and wanting to avoid anything drastic before it was too late. It did the trick. Hiashi let out a sigh and brough one hand up to his face to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“I have tried all types of viable resources, yet she still remains soft and naive.” Hiashi removed his hand and placed it behind his back again. “I intend to have a discussion with His Majesty soon in order to arrange some sort of marriage agreement with Prince Naruto and Hinata.”

Sasuke widened his eyes. Itachi looked equally surprised.

“Ah yes, I believe I recall you mentioning that at some point. I think it would be best to bring up the idea now at the gala just to give him some time to think about it before a formal meeting.” Fugaku said. 

Naruto? In a possible arranged marriage? Sasuke had no idea what to feel about this information. He felt as if it didn’t matter and he shouldn’t care. It doesn’t involve him. It’s not like his father had said he was planning an arranged marriage for him. So why did it feel like he should care?

Maybe it was because it did leave open the possibility that the same thing could happen to Sasuke. What if the Uzumaki’s reject the offer and Fugaku decides to give the arrangement to Sasuke instead? And what about Naruto? Sasuke believes that the boy would be miserable at the idea of a forced marriage. Then again, he could hit it off with Hinata and be perfectly fine with the whole thing.

So why then, after that reasoning, does Sasuke still feel hurt?

“Oh that sounds like a wonderful idea, Hinata is such a sweet girl. I’m sure Kushina will adore her.” Mikoto chimes in while still clinging to her husband’s arm.

“Yes, well, if all else fails, I am hoping to convince my brother into allowing his son to take Hinata’s inheritance.” Hiashi adds.

“And why is that, if I may?” 

Mikoto and Fugaku turn their heads in a subtle shock. It was Itachi. He had an air of calmness and confidence, as if he was not about to say something completely out of line. Which Sasuke knew was definitely going to happen.

“Well, as I have mentioned, Hinata is very weak and naive. I don’t believe she will ever be prepared for my position when she is older. Neji, my nephew, is already very capable of handling his role and I see him as a very promising candidate.” Hiashi stated everything like it was a scientific fact that could take no argument or debate of any kind. But knowing Itachi, Sasuke knew he was going to find a way.

“Miss Hinata is what? Eleven? Twelve now? That is still such a young age, don’t you agree Mr. Hyuga? It may be true that your nephew Neji may be very skilled in his political abilities at a similar age, but that is a bit rare amongst most children.”

Fugaku gave Itachi a stern look. A warning.

Itachi didn’t listen.

“Perhaps it would be completely fair to assume that Hinata will mature with age and learn to handle the responsibilities of your position in her own way. To refuse the girl of her own inheirentance without giving so much as a chance seems highly unreasonable. Wouldn’t you agree, Mr. Hyuga?”

Hiashi stood completely still. A mix of confusion and irritation mixed on his face.

Before Hiashi could say anything, Fugaku glared at Itachi and proceeded to firmly grab his arm.

“If you will excuse me and my son, Hiashi. I apologize if it has offended you in any way.” Fugaku says as he practically drags Itachi away, although he seemed to go willingly with his father. Calm as can be.

Mikoko was still a bit stunned and after a moment, decided to clear her throat.

“Ah, um, well I am very sorry for Itachi’s sudden outburst. He-” She furrowed her eyebrows and brought a delicate hand up to her collarbone. “He normally does not do that.”

“I thought so as well. It seems your youngest son may be having too much of an influence on him.” Hiashi gave a chuckle, as if he didn’t just insult Sasuke in front of his mother. But Mikoto was smart enough to not let the insinuation anger her. At least, let her anger show.

She squeezed Sasuke’s hand and let out a gentle laugh. Clearly fake.

“Perhaps.” A pause. “I should go find Kushina and let Sasuke see Prince Naruto, have a wonderful evening Hiashi.”

Then she turned to leave, tugging Sasuke along with her. 

As soon as they both were far enough away from Hiashi, Mikoto let go of Sasuke’s hand and brought her own hand up to rest gently behind his head. They continued to walk as she leaned closer to Sasuke. 

“I’m sorry he said that to you, baby.” Mikoto spoke gently. Her fingers faintly brushing through strands of his hair.

When Hiashi said it, Sasuke had only felt initial irritation. How dare this man he didn’t even know call him a bad influence. Not only dragging Sasuke’s name, but bringing Itachi along with it. Itachi was not deserving of any slander, whatsoever.

But just then, when his mother sweetly consoled him for the harsh words that were directed at him, Sasuke felt a sting in his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! sorry this took a month to update :'((  
> I wasn't planning on it taking that long, but ya know, a lot of stuff just came up and I couldn't find the time or motivation to write, so this chapter is a bit short, but I hope you enjoy!! <3

Naruto stood next to his mother on the balcony overlooking the ballroom. Minato was currently talking with a few officials just a few feet away from Naruto and Kushina. Both of them waiting patiently.

It was the peak of the Christmas gala and that meant it was time for the family royal speech. Which normally entailed general ideas and plans for the next year. Where Konoha stood in relations to other countries. Boring political stuff.

When Naruto was in the middle of a yawn, Kushina leaned down toward him and smiled.

“So, did you manage to see Sasuke tonight?”

Naruto didn’t even try to hold back his scoff. “No, and I wasn’t planning on seeking him out.”

“Naruto.” Kushina sighed out his name in disappointment. He just crossed his arms tightly across his chest in response, not saying a word. She continued.

“You can’t keep doing this, love. One of you is gonna have to take that first step and make an effort.”

“And I’ve tried! Multiple times, but everytime he just gets pissy and shuts me out.” Naruto let out an exasperated sigh and leaned forward to let his forearms rest against the railing.

“I know, but you have to remember that he's a very sheltered kid. He’s not used to having friends, especially ones his age.”

“What about Itachi? He turned out fine. Really nice, friendly, open. Why is Sasuke so different.”

Kushina huffed. She wasn’t angry, more so tired.

“I don’t know the answer to that, my love. But maybe don’t compare Sasuke to his brother, that’s not fair.”

Naruto groaned and buried his head into his crossed arms, still resting on top of the railing.

“Alright, it’s time. Naruto, stand up straight please.” Minato’s voice spoke up as he made his way over to both of them, resting a hand gently on Kushina’s back. Naruto did as he was told and lifted himself from the railing and proceeded with a weak effort to straighten out his suit. All three of them began walking toward the middle of the larger overlook, Minato positioned in the middle of them.

With the appearance of the royal family, a staff member started to make an announcement to gain all of the guests attention. Instantly the entire ballroom quieted and Minato promptly raised his hand with a smile as a gesture of thanks.

“Thank you to everyone who has attended our gala tonight. As you all might be aware, the Christmas gala is one event that the Uzumaki’s are always excited for each year.” 

Naruto listened to his father speak to the crowd of people and let his gaze wander over the entire room. He noticed some of his friends scattered amongst the crowd, each with their families and listening intently to Minato’s speech. 

But one family Naruto couldn’t seem to find was the Uchiha’s. 

He couldn’t imagine that they left early, especially before Minato’s speech and not even announcing their departure. So Naruto knew they had to be somewhere.

“-Our end of the year announcements. I would like everyone to please welcome Fugaku Uchiha and his wonderful family.”

Well that answered it.

The crowd gave a polite and generous round of applause as Fugaku approached Minato and they both exchanged firm handshakes. Right behind them was Mikoto, Itachi, and of course Sasuke. 

Naruto couldn’t help the sigh of relief that escaped him when he realized Sasuke would be standing on the complete opposite side of him, nowhere near Naruto. Which meant no pretending and tolerating. Maybe Sakura’s prediction was wrong.

Minato continued speaking, something political that involved Fugaku. Naruto didn’t care much to listen to the details. At some point, Itachi began to speak, and while that did catch Naruto’s interests, he ultimately clocked out and absent-mindedly stared out the large windows.

Soon the crowd of guests was applauding again and Kushina gently placed her hand on Naruto’s back. He looked up at his mother and gave a silent question.

Kushina looked down and smiled. “Yes, we’re done. You can go find your friends.”

That was all it took for Naruto to reveal a large smile and instantly dart off toward the large staircase that emptied out down into the ballroom.

“Watch the time! Please be on time for presents!” Kushina called out after her son, who was practically sliding down the banister, but she knew that she would need to retrieve him herself when the time came.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


“Yo Naruto! Over here!” Kiba shouted while waving an arm aimlessly in the air to grab his friend’s attention.

Naruto saw and ran over with a large grin. Once he made his way past a few wandering guests, he couldn’t help but let out a laugh when he reunited with his group of friends.

“Guys, that was so boring.”

“Yeah, I could tell.” Sakura giggled while lightly punching at his arm. 

Gaara stood off to the side, nursing a tall glass of juice with a small smile, looking at Naruto. Kiba promptly wrapped an arm around Naruto’s neck and pulled him in closer a bit roughly.

“Hey, let's all head outside. It’s gettin’ way too hot in here, all these adult’s talkin’ politics if you know what I mean.” Kiba winked and tugged at Naruto a few times. This elicited a laugh and a roll of the eyes from Sakura as she began to make her way to the doors that let out into the garden. Gaara looked around a bit, for what seemed to be no reason, before deciding to follow after Sakura. As he made his way past them, Gaara reached out and lightly tugged at the edge of Naruto’s sleeve.

“Come on.” He muttered.

Naruto smiled and nodded. Then proceeded to drag Kiba along with him, trailing behind their other two friends. All four of them walked out into the gardens where only a few adults milled around aimlessly, making small talk and sipping on two thousand dollar champagne. They were all professionally polite enough to the groups of pre-teens, but that was mainly due to the fact that Naruto was among them. Any sane adult within the walls of the Uzumaki estate knows to hold their tongue when speaking about the royal family, especially the prince.

As they continue their way through the garden, Kiba and Naruto play a made up game which mostly consists of them hitting each other and yelling. Sakura and Gaara trailed behind them, speaking calmly and bringing up various topics more on the academic side.

This was how the group usually spent their time together, although for now they were missing Shikamaru, who was currently on a holiday vacation somewhere out of the country. It was common for the Nara to find themselves off on some sort of trip, business or personal. But from what Naruto could tell, Shikamaru was tired of it and made it very apparent that he would much rather stay home. And Naruto had to agree, even though he would lose, he misses the card games he always plays with Shikamaru.

All in all, Naruto just loves to be with his friends. If anything, having such close relationships with all his friends frustrated him. In terms of his summer situations that is.

Naruto didn’t understand why he had to continue with this plan of a forced friendship with Sasuke. Kushina had told him that the reason was for Naruto to gain a close and trust-worthy friendship that he can have guaranteed when is crowned his father’s title. But why did it have to Sasuke specifically? Why can’t it be Kiba, or Sakura, or Gaara?

Of course, Naruto should know better than to think about Sasuke, because when he does, the other boy always manages to show up.

“Hey, asshole alert.” Kiba whispered as he nudged Naruto’s arm.

When Naruto lifted his head to look in the direction that Kiba gestured in, he saw Sasuke sitting alone on the side of a fountain. He seemed to be absent-mindedly scrolling through something on his phone.

“Let’s go somewhere else.” Gaara spoke softly from behind, he sounded a bit irritated.

Kiba and Sakura both agreed and they grabbed at each of Naruto’s arms, attempting to pull him in the opposite direction from the fountain. But for some reason, Naruto stood firmly in place while continuing to lock his gaze onto Sasuke. He should probably go along with his friends but he couldn’t find the control to move.

“Bro, come on,” Kiba tugged at Naruto’s arm. But Naruto only held up a hand, continuing to stare forward at the fountain.

“Uh you guys go on ahead, I’ll catch up.”

They all stood in silence, Kiba’s grip still on Naruto’s arm and Gaara’s quiet irritation becoming tangible. It wasn’t until Sakura cleared her throat a few moments later that some of the tension diffused.

“Yeah, let’s go guys, give Naruto a moment.” She spoke a bit softly as she practically dragged Gaara away, Kiba trailing behind them while throwing numerous glances back over his shoulder.

After the three of them were a good enough distance away, Naruto began to regain some control back over his movements and started to walk over to Sasuke.

It didn’t take long for Sasuke to notice someone approaching and he glanced up from his phone to see who it was. But that only resulted in a quiet scoff and an eye roll.

“What do you want?”

“Jeez man, I haven’t even said anything yet.” Naruto stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“You don’t need to, in fact you shouldn’t at all.” 

Naruto questioned himself on why he deliberately chose to interact with Sasuke when he could’ve just gone along with his friends. Of course, he didn’t find an answer but there wasn’t anything to do now besides try to do something with the situation.

He sighed.

“Listen, I just wanted to say hi. That’s it.”

Sasuke remained silent, both of his hands at his sides clutching the edge of the fountain. It didn’t seem like he had any intention of speaking after a full minute of silence, so Naruto decided he should take that as the que to leave.

“Why?”

Naruto froze, eyes widened as he looked at Sasuke. The other boy didn’t meet his eyes, staring off almost absent-mindedly as he spoke. His eyebrows creased.

“Why…, what?” Naruto spoke slowly.

“Why do you try so hard to be my friend when you and I just,” A pause. “Aren’t.”

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and looked up for a moment.

“I don’t know! I just wanna try to be nice since we’re gonna be stuck together for a while, might as well get along. But you don’t ever wanna return the favor.” His voice sounded more exhausted than irritated.

Sasuke stayed quiet again. Naruto could never tell if it was because he was at a loss for words or was just simply choosing the silent treatment.

The silence between them went on for another long minute and Naruto was about to fill it with any words he could find, when he noticed the multiple guests outside start to make their way toward the ballroom. Then he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. 

It was a message from his mother.

**Mom:**

_Presents!!_

Naruto sighed.

“Whatever dude, I gotta go. We gotta go open gifts. You should probably find your parents.” 

And with that, Naruto turned and walked back to the entrance of the ballroom. Sasuke didn’t say anything in return and remained seated on the fountain. It looked as if he was still processing everything that Naruto said, even though Naruto himself felt as if it wasn’t anything they didn’t already know. But Sasuke was known to think in mysterious ways. So he let himself drop the train of thought and begin to focus on the Christmas gala.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
  


The annual ritual of opening Christmas gifts went as normal as every other year. Of course that meant nothing surprising or interesting happened, at least to Naruto. Kushina, on the other hand, was ecstatic at almost every single gift that was opened. She was either genuinely thrilled at every unwrapping or was only trying to please the gift givers when the recipients lacked much of a reaction.

What the case was, Naruto was just glad that everything went by smoothly and that meant that the gala itself was coming to a close. That was made even clearer when Minato returned to the balcony overlooking the ballroom. It was time for the king to make the closing speech.

Fortunately, Naruto wasn’t required to stand next to his father. Mainly because he was able to efficiently use the excuse of ‘being too exhausted’ from the party. However, his mother still required him to stay and listen to his father’s speech before returning to his bedroom for the night.

Naruto lingered near one of the walls of the room, trying to avoid the crowd gathering close to where Minato was. The speech sounded vaguely like all of the ones of the previous Christmas gala’s, so Naruto didn’t feel too bad for tuning half of it out.

It wasn’t too long, however, until he heard a voice say his name and feel a hand be placed on his shoulder.

“Huh?” He picked his head up, which was apparently falling due to him being in the process of dozing off.

“Naruto, hey, were you not listening?”

It was Sakura, her voice was soft but her face raised some concern.

“Kinda. What happened?”

“You’re dad just mentioned having a possible arranged marriage for you. Is that true?”

“...What?”

Naruto began to tune out the sounds around him again, not out of exhaustion but out of shock.

Arranged marriage? That was something never mentioned to Naruto before, why bring it up suddenly without any prior private conversation? And if so, with who? Naruto had so many questions screaming in his mind that he couldn’t find any words to say back to Sakura.

Her expression remained pitiful as she kept her hand on Naruto’s shoulder as a reassurance.

“Hey? What just happened? Did I hear Mr. Minato right?” Kiba quickly emerged to Naruto’s side and looked quickly between both Sakura and Naruto, asking a silent question. When neither responded, Kiba sighed in disbelief. 

Even with the comfort of his friend’s presence, Naruto still felt a pit in his stomach from the news. 

How could this be happening?

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> twitter @biscuitkun


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